On April 3, 2009, JW Mitchell High School senior lefthander Patrick Schuster tossed a 17 strike out No-Hitter against Land O’ Lakes High School in 7 innings, and if that didn’t catch the scouts’ eyes, he took the mound again 5 days later and proceeded to baffle River Ridge High School. Over 5 innings of work Schuster completed his second No-Hitter in as many games while striking out 10.
Schuster is a University of Florida signee and as much as the Gators may be salivating over the most recent performances they may also be watching the possibility of Schuster ever pitching for UF dwindle to only a flicker of hope. Schuster is a projectable 6’3″ and 170lbs and throws his fastabll at 90 mph with a good changeup that has depth and dive. Schuster’s frame says that he will probably be able to add to his velocity as he adds muscle to his 6’3″ frame and a lefty that can throw in the low 90s with a good feel for a changeup is a rare breed coveted my major league teams.
He’s a top student at JW Mitchell and he translates his school smarts to the field and knows how to intelligently work a lineup. He uses his above average command and excellent control to hit spots and change opponents eye level while adding and subtracting from his velocity with the fastball/changeup combo. His breaking pitch is more of a slurve at this point than a defined slider or curv, but he does use it well and it shows good spin. Most Major League clubs that have come to watch him in Perfect Game showcases and during his most recent stretch of unhittability should be able to turn the slurve into a tight slider which would work well with Schuster’s 3/4 arm slot.
Oh that’s right… I have a question that needs to be answered. “How do you say No-No in triplicate?” Well Patrick Schuster is the most recent answer to that question.
On Monday night in front of a crowd that included at least 20 scouts with radar guns at the ready, Schuster took on Clearwater Central Catholic High School and proceeded to strike out 16 over 7 innings of No hit baseball with a hit batsman and two errors accounting for the only 3 baserunners in the game. He mixed his fastball and change in with a breaking pitch that had nice tilt that night to keep hitters off balance and completed his third consecutive no-hitter, tying a state record set 24 years ago by Ben Webb of Tate High School in Gonzalez, FL.
“It’s great,” Schuster said by cell phone from a local Beef O’Brady’s, his typical postgame hangout. “I can’t think of a more perfect time for this. There were 15-20 scouts there and most of them were bosses of guys watching me. I’m having a blast right now.”
How much it will take to sway Schuster from attending the University of Florida is up for debate, but without question it will cost more today than it would have before the season. Schuster’s stock is on the rise and the bonus money that comes with that rise could be too much to pass on in order to continue on with amateur baseball at UF for him.
Patrick Schuster takes the mound this Monday night against Pasco High School to see if he can continue his dominant ways.
I’ll be keeping a close eye on him and hope to see his name called early on Draft day 2009.
